Andrew Litton, Music Director of Norway's Bergen Philharmonic, Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest, Conductor Laureate of Britain's Bournemouth Symphony, and Music Director Emeritus of the Dallas Symphony, makes regular appearances with all of them and guest conducts the world's leading orchestras and opera companies. This season Mr. Litton returns to the National Symphony Orchestra where 27 years ago he began his career as Exxon/Arts Endowment Assistant Conductor to the late Mstislav Rostropovich. He leads the orchestra in the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon's Piano Concerto, as well as in a Kennedy Center Gala with pianist Lang-Lang. Mr. Litton's current season includes debuts with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Hamburg Symphony, the Iceland Symphony, and the City of London Sinfonia. He returns to the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony, the Melbourne Symphony, the Tonkuenstler Orchestra of Vienna, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestras of Utah and Colorado, among others. He also appears several times with Britain's Royal Philharmonic, including a summer BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. Last season Mr. Litton led an ecstatically received new production of Richard Strauss' "Egyptian Helen" at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin. Next season he makes his Australian Opera debut in Richard Strauss' "Rosenkavalier". Mr. Litton has conducted the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Welsh National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, English National Opera, among others. In 2004 he was instrumental in creating a new Norwegian Opera company, Den Nye Oper. Using the Bergen Philharmonic as the pit orchestra, Den Nye Oper won raves for its productions of "Tosca", "Carmen", and last season, "The Flying Dutchman". Bringing his love of opera to the concert hall, Mr. Litton regularly closes the Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest with sold-out concert performances of opera, most recently "Aida". Mr. Litton has guest conducted the world's top orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic and the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo. Mr. Litton's over 8o recordings include a Grammy-winning "Belshazzar's Feast" with the Bournemouth Symphony and baritone Bryn Terfel, a Grammy nominated "Sweeney Todd" with the New York Philharmonic and Patti Lupone, and numerous recordings in a dual role of pianist conducting from the keyboard. An orchestra builder, Mr. Litton brought the Bournemouth Symphony, of which he was Principal Conductor from 1988-1994, on its first American tour and produced 14 recordings, including the Grammy winning "Belshazzar's Feast". Music Director of the Dallas Symphony from 1994-2006, he hired over one third of the players, led the orchestra on three major European tours, appeared four times at Carnegie Hall, created a children's television series broadcast nationally and in widespread use in school curricula, and produced 28 recordings. Mr. Litton's Dallas Symphony Rachmaninov Piano Concerto recordings with Stephen Hough, widely hailed as the best since the composer's own, won the Classical Brits/BBC Critics Award. The Bergen Philharmonic, founded in 1765, one of the world's oldest and Edvard Grieg's own orchestra, was little known outside Norway until Mr. Litton became its first American Music Director in 2003. Mr. Litton brought the orchestra to the BBC Proms and the Concertgebouw for the first time, led a major American tour including Carnegie Hall, and also brought them to Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus on several occasions. The Bergen Philharmonic now has active recording relationships with both the Hyperion and BIS labels. Mr. Litton's leadership of Minnesota Orchestra Sommerfest as conductor, piano soloist, and chamber musician, has brought new vitality to the Festival, raising its performance and financial standings. Mr. Litton especially enjoys working with young artists. He regularly conducts youth orchestras around the world and last summer made his debut with the European Union Youth Orchestra, comprised of leading young instrumentalists from all 27 European Union countries. He led the orchestra on tour through Austria, Italy, and Holland, with a finale at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. Andrew Litton, a graduate of the Fieldston School, New York, received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Juilliard in piano and conducting. The youngest-ever winner of the BBC International Conductors Competition, he served as Assistant Conductor at Teatro alla Scala and Exxon/Arts Endowment Assistant Conductor for the National Symphony under Rostropovich. His many honors include an honorary Doctorate from the University of Bournemouth, Yale University's Sanford Medal, and the Elgar Society Medal.
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